I’ve been keeping my eye on Eternights ever since I first saw the flashy trailer at one of Sony’s State of Play events last year. As a pretty big fan of the Persona series—I cannot wait for Metaphor: ReFantazio by the way—the aesthetics and gameplay instantly drew me in. I went hand-on with the first act and wanted to share how the game compares and is shaping up.
Upon first booting the game, I thought it seemed like a Persona knockoff which I came to find isn’t fair as Eternights does quite a bit to separate it from what I imagine will become a common comparison, at least visually. Right off the bat, the main protagonist (named Protagonist since you name him) reminds me of Ren Amamiya (canon name for ‘Joker’) while his best friend Chani absolutely screams Ryuji to me. One could argue they all look like anime boys, and I can’t argue that fact, but I can tell Persona is an influence, even without them stating it. Regardless, pulling inspiration from one of my favorite series and games of all time isn’t a bad thing in my book. The writing is fun and clever, with enjoyable and believable shit talking between the two.
The game starts innocently enough, with Chani trying to sell you on trying dating apps while he takes the lead creating your profile. This pays off because, in what I would think is super suspicious in real life, a cute girl ends up messages you and insists on meeting up on a date the next day. Similar to Persona, you then slip into a weird dream at night where the game drops you into the battle system consisting of attacking and dodging which, when triggered perfectly, temporarily slows down time allowing you to get in a flurry of attacks. Mastering this dodging technique is vital, as I came to find out. Just like persona, a screen pops up and the day changes in the calendar, triggering you to wake up and go about your day to head out to meet up for your date….which is when shit goes down.
While you’re out on the town, canisters of a substance called Eternight simultaneously explode which causes chaos and people to become enraged monsters with heavy violent tendencies. Not only that, but a bright blue wall erects itself and towers over the city skyline by many thousands of feet. You and Chani are able to escape into a nearby bunker where you eventually meet up with popstar icon Yuna (whose naivety reminds me of Anne from Persona 5) and her friend whose name is not important since she brutally dies as the four of you hightail it from your bunkers in hopes of escaping to the surface. This is where the game shows more of its horror aspect as you make your way to the exit all the while encountering deranged monsters. I don’t want to give too much away, but you end up meeting a few mysterious people in you world as well as in another dimension, you get your fucking arm chopped off, and you then proceed to kick ass with your newfound Deathblow ability. The main gist of the game is slaying monsters with a team of other people you encounter and build relationships Persona style in hopes of finding a love interest. You know, while the world is ending.
By the time you read this, you can check out the demo for yourself on Steam. I’m still very excited to check this game out and am impressed with both the quality as well as the ambition coming from this small fully remote three person team. I can’t wait to dive into this on the go thanks to Steam Deck once it launches September 21 where it will also release day one on the Epic Game store and as a timed console exclusive on PS4 and PS5.
